Mute
by Captain Atticus
Summary: After a distraught Nudge runs away from the rest of the Flock, an encounter with an old enemy leaves her mute. Paltry Fax.
1. Running Away

**A/N: IMPORTANT: This takes place right after book four.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**Anyways, I'm pretty excited about this fic. It'll only be six chapters long or so, but I like what I've got so far. Enjoy.**

Nudge banked to her left, purposely whacking the Gasman in the back of the head with one fawn wing. Giggling quietly, she eased upward as the Gasman looked around furiously. He spotted Nudge, of course, and he immediately zoomed toward her.

Right before he could reach her, Nudge dropped downward, dodging him effectively. He dove towards her, wings folded in. Intent on getting her back, he didn't see Fang until it was too late to pull up.

The two collided spectacularly. Fang caught the Gasman in his iron arms, as the eight year-old was momentarily too stunned to remember to flap his wings.

"Cut it out," Fang ordered, gazing at Nudge in irritation.

"But I'm bored!" she complained.

Fang ignored her pointedly and released a now subdued Gasman. The eight year-old, although still slightly dazed, resumed flying.

With a sigh, Nudge flew closer to Max. Their leader didn't notice her first, apparently deep in concentration. Her lips moved silently, and Fang glanced worriedly at her every few seconds, a sure sign that she was conversing with the Voice.

Nudge waited impatiently, having been chided many times over for interrupting conversations. She frowned. Did non-vocal conversations really count, though? After a moment's thought, she decided they didn't. The stupid Voice could talk to Max some other time.

"Max," she said, and was forced to repeat herself several times in order to gain Max's attention. "I'm bored. Can we _do_ something? I mean, flying is fun and all, but it, like, just goes on, and on, and on."

"Not right now, sweetie," Max replied shortly.

"C'mon, Max," Nudge wheedled. "Can't we play a game or something? What about, like, tag, just flying? That'd be fun right?"

"Too conspicuous."

Nudge had no idea what 'conspicuous' meant. She puzzled over it for a few seconds, but came up empty. Oh, well. She could always ask someone later.

"Hey, Max, where are we going, anyway?" Nudge asked suddenly. "Is it somewhere the Voice wants us to go?"

"Yeah," Max responded.

"That answers the second question, I guess, but where are we going?" Nudge repeated impatiently.

"Sure."

Nudge studied Max carefully. That hadn't been a yes or no question; Max's answer made no sense. In fact, Max wasn't even looking at her. She was staring straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought. For all Nudge knew, she could even still be talking to the Voice.

Max was ignoring her.

Nudge swallowed a sob. Why did it _hurt_ so much, being ignored like this? She realized she was shaking and tried to regain control of herself. Now that she thought about it, it was hardly the first time it had happened: the Flock member she was talking to got that glazed look in their eyes, nodded in all the right places, and used that condescendingly pitched "That's nice" or "Sure, Nudge" whenever she stopped talking.

It was the ultimate rejection. The people she was closest to in the world, her Flock, her _family_, ignored her. It was as if they simply didn't care enough to really listen, but didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. It was as if they didn't care.

Nudge shook her head. That was impossible. Of course they cared. Sure, she wasn't usually included with Max and Fang, or Iggy and Gazzy, but there was always Angel. Angel was there for her. The others were just… busy. They didn't mean to choose favorites, right?

She glanced at Angel. The younger girl was chatting animatedly with Total. The black dog was flapping his newly grown wings desperately, and Nudge could tell that Angel was giving him another flying lesson. Angel didn't notice Nudge's observation, and Nudge realized with a measure of relief that this probably meant that Angel wasn't reading her thoughts.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Nudge stubbornly wiped them away with a tightly clenched fist. If she wasn't worth listening to, then _they_ definitely weren't worth crying for. If they didn't care about her, then she wouldn't care about them. What did she need them for, anyway? She'd be better off on her own.

Nudge nodded firmly. That's what she'd do: she'd leave. She'd find a _real_ family, one that had time for her.

"I'm leaving," she declared loudly, but only Fang seemed to notice.

He cocked his head to one side, asking, "What?"

"I'm leaving she repeated, this time with the whole Flock's attention, "and I'm not coming back."

"You can't leave!" the Gasman protested, breaking the stunned silence.

Angel stared strangely at Nudge, and the eleven year-old shut her out with repeated thoughts of "go away."

Meanwhile, the rest of the Flock continued their objections, all running on top of each other.

"Quiet!" Max bellowed at last.

The Flock was subdued.

"Thank you," Max said with a clenched jaw. She turned to Nudge, but the younger girl spoke up first.

"It's too late, Max," Nudge told her, voice hard to keep it from shaking. "I'm leaving."

With that, she took off in the opposite direction. She didn't look back: she wouldn't be able to see through the tears anyway.

**A/N: As I'm not going to have computer access for about a week after Thursday, I'm going to be trying to get as much of this posted as possible. Reviews are always motivating. :)**


	2. Worried

**A/N: The first chapter got a pretty awesome response, so... Hobey ho!**

"Nudge!" Max called, ready to fly after her.

Fang caught her by the sneaker before she could get in a good downward stroke. "Let her go, Max," he said sadly.

Max jerked away, shocked. "Let her go? Fang, it's Nudge; we can't just let her go!"

"I meant that she needs time," Fang clarified, looking irritated. "Not that we should move on and never see her again."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Fang nodded impatiently.

"What're we gonna _do_?" Gazzy asked.

Angel tugged on Max's sleeve anxiously. "She didn't mean it, did she?"

Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She'd been wondering the same thing.

"Of course not," Iggy assured Angel, saving Max from answering. "Nudge's only having a bad day. We'll get her back."

His voice stumbled at the end, and Angel ended up hanging her head.

"I'll bring her back," Fang volunteered, quietly confident. "Meet us tomorrow at Dr. M's house, okay?"

"What are you going to say to her?" Max asked.

"She doesn't need me to say anything to her, Max. She needs someone to listen.

Nudge flew until it was too dark and cold to go on. She landed in a deserted forest none too smoothly, shivering. More tired than she'd felt in her entire life, she chose a sturdy, long-limbed tree, spotting the perfect branch to sleep on far above her head. Carefully, Nudge placed one foot against the tree's trunk, testing it for balance, and began to climb.

About halfway up, a chattering squirrel ran past, startling her. Nudge's feet slipped. Hanging onto a thin branch that was bending ominously with both hands, she kicked wildly, feet scraping against the trunk and other branches for purchase.

The branch snapped. Nudge fell down the tree, sticks clawing at her the whole way. She hit the ground with a hollow thud, all the breath knocked from her lungs. For a fall too short to whip out her wings, it certainly hurt enough.

Too exhausted to try to climb the tree again, she fell asleep sniffling on the forest floor, feeling so very alone.

Fang landed quietly by Nudge's sleeping form, folding in his midnight wings. He lowered himself to sit cross-legged on the dead leaf-covered ground. His jaw stretched in a silent yawn, and he blinked reflexive water from his eyes. Nudge'd had the right idea; falling asleep was definitely appealing after a long day of flying.

The winged teenager gently brushed a stray strand of dark hair from Nudge's cheek, brow furrowing in concern when he spotted the glistening half-dried tear tracks. He contemplated waking her then and there, but decided against it. She deserved a good night's sleep. They'd talk in the morning.

Fang didn't mean to fall asleep, but he did nonetheless, becoming invisible against his surroundings.

Max, Iggy, Angel, Total, and the Gasman walked bleary-eyed up the Martinezes' driveway.

"Anyone want to get the newspaper?" Max asked half-heartedly. "Total?"

The Scottie-reminiscent dog sniffed in offense. "What, I have to fetch it like a dog?"

"You _are_ a dog," Iggy muttered irritably, earning himself a reproving look from Angel.

"I've got it," Gazzy sighed, stooping to scoop up the daily paper.

Max nodded her thanks and stepped up onto the front porch, skirting around a wilted potted plant. She pressed the doorbell with one stiff finger, holding it against the button for a few seconds before releasing. Past the door, the chimes sounded, and the Martinezes' dog, Magnolia, erupted with a series of frenzied barks.

"Why didn't _she_ fetch the newspaper?" Total asked snidely.

Max made a face at him and rang it again.

"They need time to come to the door, Max," Iggy reminded her, leaning against the side of the house, arms crossed. He looked like he was about to fall asleep.

Setting her jaw in frustration, Max rang the doorbell at least ten times in rapid succession. She then pounded on the door with her fist, accidentally cracking the painted wood.

Iggy felt along the broken wood expertly, muttering, "That's mutant bird kid strength for you."

Angel and the Gasman snickered. Total almost looked jealous.

"Iggy," Max said, feeling how insufficient her few hours of sleep had been, "just pick the lock."

"Thought you'd never ask." He bumped her aside smoothly and set to work. The door swung open within seconds.

Immediately, Magnolia rushed for freedom. Gazzy caught the basset hound's collar helpfully, dropping the newspaper just inside the doorway. Total trotted by disdainfully, tail held high.

"He misses Akila," Angel explained to Max conspiratorially.

"She had to go back to being a rescue dog sometime. Even Fang was starting to complain about how heavy she was," Max responded, suddenly more cheerful now that she would be seeing her mother and sister soon.

Iggy slammed the door shut, and Gazzy released Magnolia with a sigh of relief.

"I'll fix breakfast," Iggy volunteered, clapping Max on the shoulder and heading for the kitchen.

"I'll help," Gazzy said suddenly, walking past Max.

"Me, too," Angel quipped nervously, rushing after them.

Max scowled, her cheerfulness fading as she realized that the Martinezes weren't home. She could tell when people were trying to avoid her.

Suddenly, she heard the drawn-out, ear-torturing noise of a garage door creeping open. Max barreled around two tight corners, bursting into the garage before Dr. Martinez could get the car's engine turned off. Magnolia followed her out, finally pulling off her escape.

Ella scrambled out of the car, gave Max a hug, and ran to retrieve her dog.

"Max!" Dr. Martinez said, sounding pleased. "When did you get here?"

"Forever ago. What took you guys so long?"

"We had to explain why your educational career at Lerner's was so brief," her mother reminded her dryly. "And then fly back from Virginia."

"Oh. Forgot about that," Max said, fidgeting.

Her mother's expression changed into one of concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nudge left, Mom."

"Oh, Max." Dr. Martinez wrapped her daughter in a comforting hug.

"She said she wasn't coming back," Max continued, blinking back tears, "and I keep wondering if it's my fault."

"She'll come back. Just give her time."

Max pulled away to look Dr. Martinez in the eye. "How can you be sure?"

"You, the Flock: you're her family. She knows you love her."

"I guess," Max said, though she still felt hopeless. "At least Fang's with her."

"Fang left, too?"

"No! No, of course not; he went to bring Nudge back. They're supposed to meet us here today."

"Bacon's ready!" Iggy yelled from the kitchen, just as Ella and Magnolia re-entered the garage.

Ella brightened visibly at the sound of Iggy's voice. "Oh, good," she said happily. "You brought cute guys home with you again."

Max stared after her, too stunned to speak.

"She's going to be so disappointed that Fang's not here," Dr. Martinez sighed, following Ella into the house.

**A/N: There was a lot more that was supposed to go into chapter two, but I don't feel like typing it up right now. Sorry. Anyways, review.**


	3. Phone Calls

**A/N: This chapter stinks and is embarassing. I am sorry. Also, I am sorry for the incredibly long wait.**

With a growl, Max headed after Ella and Dr. Martinez and toward the kitchen. She snatched a piece of bacon from the heaping platter on the counter and settled in to wait for Iggy to finish making the pancakes. He, Angel, and Gazzy had formed a cooking team of sorts, with Angel flipping pancakes and turning over omelets, the Gasman buttering toast, and Iggy supervising and doing anything vaguely dangerous.

Max was nibbling on a slice of swiped toast when the phone rang. Dr. Martinez answered it with a customary "hello" in the other room.

"Fang?" Dr. M. asked, sounding surprised. "Yes, Max is here. Just a second."

Max was there before Dr. M. could call for her. She took the phone hurriedly, praying for good news.

"Fang? You there?"

"Max, we've got a problem," he said apologetically. "I lost her."

"How?" Max asked evenly, fighting the urge to shout at him.

"I'm so sorry, Max; I didn't mean to. I… I fell asleep, and when I woke up she was gone. She probably didn't even know I was there: I'd blended in to my surroundings after being still for so long."

"It's okay, Fang," Max lied. "Where are you?"

"A payphone near…" His voice trailed off.

"Near where?" Max demanded. "Fang? Where are you?"

"Near Tipisco," he breathed. "Max, that's where she must've been going: her parents are supposed to live in Tipisco!"

"Get on it," Max ordered, relieved. "We'll wait here."

"See you soon." Fang hung up, and Max followed suit.

Max went back to the kitchen and was surprised to find that the bacon had vanished. Gazzy informed her that Iggy had polished it off.

"Pig," Max accused.

"That would make me a cannibal," Iggy said unabashedly. "Speaking of which, help yourself to an omelet."

Max and Angel opted for the pancakes.

"Does this mean we feed on our own young?" Gazzy asked in fascination around a mouthful of omelet.

"Only if Angel's for lunch," Iggy remarked.

"I think I want toast," Total decided nauseously, shoving aside his own portion of the eggy food.

The phone rang again. Dropping a forkful of pancake, Max dashed for it, pressing the talk button before "The William Tell Overture" could get to its third measure.

"Fang?" she asked urgently.

"Max?" the caller questioned in return, obviously confused.

"Jeb," she responded disappointedly, recognizing his voice. "What do you want?"

"I was going to leave a message for you, actually," he answered, sounding more amused than annoyed. "It's about Itex."

"What are you waiting for? Tell me."

"Not until you tell me why Fang isn't with you."

"What? No!"

"Maximum, this is important. Where's Fang?"

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. He'd find out eventually anyways. "He's in Tipisco, looking for Nudge. She ran off."

Only static came from the receiver.

"Jeb? You there?"

"This isn't good, Max. You need to get her back."

"Thanks, I wonder why I didn't think of that," Max said sarcastically. "What's the news about Itex?"

"Omega's on the loose."

"And I care why…?"

"Yesterday he broke into the School and stole all of the documents they had on you and the Flock. We believe that he may be looking for revenge."

"Against us?"

"You sort of ruined his life," Jeb said wryly.

Something dawned on Max. "Nudge's parents' address was in those files, wasn't it?"

"Along with your mother's, yes."

"I've got to go," Max said, goosebumps rising on her arms.

"Wait –" Jeb began, but she hung up.

"Iggy, Mom," she called. "I need to talk to you."

Dr. Martinez rushed in, Iggy on her heels.

"What's up?" Iggy said.

"That was Jeb," she told them, indicating the phone. She filled them in on the situation as quickly as possible.

"So Omega'll be coming here looking for you," Iggy stated.

"Tipisco's closer to the School," Max objected, pacing.

"I don't think he'll care about Nudge as much," Iggy said.

"But what if he does?"

"There's nothing we can do about Tipisco," Dr. Martinez brought up, and they both stared at her as if she were insane.

"I could fly there to warn them," Max suggested.

"We need you here," Iggy told her, shaking his head. "I can't protect Angel, Gazzy, and the Martinezes on my own. Dr. M. is right."

"What about you?" Max requested desperately. "You could fly over there."

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm blind."

"Take Gazzy."

"I can't protect him, and, from what you've told me about this Omega guy, I don't think Gazzy could take him. He's just a kid, Max. For that matter, _I'm_ just a kid."

"You're not 'just' anything, Iggy," Max corrected, annoyed. "Besides, I took him. Omega can't track things very well."

"That'll be help if he ends up coming here," Iggy said, "but Gazzy and I aren't you."

"Do Fang and Nudge know that Omega can't track things well?" Dr. Martinez interjected.

Max moaned.

"I'll take that as a 'no.'"

"It's too late to worry about that," Iggy said firmly. "We've got ourselves to keep safe."

"How can you _say_ that? We're talking about Fang and Nudge!" Max exclaimed.

"We can't let ourselves be killed over something we have no control over," Dr. Martinez said softly.

"First off, we need to evacuate this house," Iggy said decisively.

"We can't. If Omega doesn't go for Tipisco, Fang and Nudge will be coming here," Max reminded him.

He nodded, conceding the point. "Dr. Martinez, Ella, Gazzy, Angel, and Total will have to get out of here, then. You and I will stay here and wait for Fang and Nudge."

"Why should you stay?" Max asked. "I can take Omega on my own."

"Better safe than sorry," Dr. Martinez quipped.

"Plus, I was thinking that I could help you booby-trap the house. I'd rather avoid a head-on confrontation, personally," Iggy said.

"I'll get a hotel room for the rest of us," Dr. Martinez volunteered.

Max gave up, deciding that they were probably right. "Don't take a cell phone and make sure you pay in cash," she said hopelessly.

Dr. Martinez gave her a quick hug. "We'll be fine."

**A/N: I almost don't want reviews for this chapter, as it stinks.**

**I'll still take them, though, because I resist. REVIEW.**


	4. Kevlar Windbreaker?

**A/N: Bet you thought you'd never hear from me again. SURPRISE. Sorry.**

**Really, I am. Also, this chapter sounded much better when I orginally wrote it, months ago, then when I typed it up a few minutes ago. Sorry about that too.**

Fang stopped at the street corner and glanced around in frustration. This place looked nothing like it did from the air. How could he possibly find Nudge? Assuming that she was even going to attempt to find her parents; Nudge had always been unpredictable.

He zipped up his windbreaker and looked up at the sky worriedly. The mid-winter sun had already started to set. His search could only get harder in the dark.

Tipisco topped Fang's list of "most frustrating places on Earth." Small enough to be called quaint, Fang had no doubt that anyone else could have navigated it easily. He'd been here a few months ago with Nudge and gotten around fine. Why did he have to be lost now, when it really mattered?

At last, the trailer park came into sight. Fang walked toward it briskly, hands jammed into his pockets, shoulders hunched. A woman picking up toys with her toddler looked at him with curiosity verging on suspicion. Fang scowled at her. He _hated_ small towns.

Someone else was walking up the street toward him, straight backed and confident. Fang noted the woman gave the newcomer the same curious look, marking the other teenager as a stranger to Tipisco as well.

An uneasy feeling made Fang stop in his tracks to study the newcomer. He was shorter than Fang and not quite as lean, but he looked muscular nonetheless. His nose was a tad crooked, as if it had been broken and fixed by an excellent but preoccupied doctor. The teenager's short-cropped hair was a perfectly ordinary shade of pale brown, but his electric blue eyes had an exotic hint of silver.

The silver clued Fang in The stranger had to be Omega, the experiment Max had described fighting in Germany. Still Fang hesitated before attacking or running. The stranger _could_ be someone else. What would Omega be doing in Tipisco, anyways?

Troubled, Fang resumed walking. He deliberately avoided the stranger's eyes as he passed him. For a moment he thought he was home free. Then the stranger tapped him on the shoulder and spoke up.

"Excuse me, Jesse, could you direct me to 4625 Chaparral Court?" he said pleasantly enough, but his silvery eyes flashed. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, Monique."

Fang's blood turned to ice. "What did you call me?"

"Jesse, of course," the stranger responded, eyes wide in false innocence. "Jesse Scott. I just visited your mother in Death Valley last night."

"Who are you?" Fang asked, stalling. What had Max said about fighting this guy? There was some kind of trick to defeat him; he was supposed to be practically invincible otherwise. He couldn't remember what it was, and time was quite obviously running.

"They call me Omega."

Fang bolted. He sprinted down Roadrunner Lane and made a hard left onto Saguaro Street, praying that he wouldn't accidentally lead Omega straight to Nudge. The road turned to dirt and gravel beneath his feet, and each pounding step he took sent pebbles flying into the air.

Rhythmic crunches behind him told him that Omega was hot on his tail. As he ran, his fingers fumbled to unzip his windbreaker. If he could get it off fast enough, he could unfurl his wings and hightail it out of there. At this point, he didn't really care if any normal humans saw his wings. All he had to do was grab Nudge and fly to Dr. Martinez's house to warm Max.

Omega tackled him. Fang hit the gravel road hard, scraping his palms raw and tearing a hole in the left knee of his jeans. A sudden burning pain in his shoulder told him Omega had a weapon of some kind, probably a knife. As soon as the knife left his flesh, Fang rolled over, throwing Omega off.

He scrambled to his feet, jerking off the windbreaker's zipper. Fang swore loudly as he realized it was jammed. There was no way he'd be able to fix it.

Meanwhile, Omega was on his feet as well. The shorter mutant lunged in for a second knife thrust. Fang leaned to the side, deflecting the blade with his arm. It stung as it cut through the windbreaker's sleeve and into his arm, but it was better than having it plunged into his heart.

Fang's breath caught as an idea floated into his mind. He glanced at his slit sleeve as he ducked under a roundhouse kick. It was insane, but if he could pull it off…

Omega came in with the knife again, and Fang allowed him to get close enough to flick the blade against his torso. The winged mutant winced at how deep the new cut was, at the blood dripping down his chest, but after a few more cuts like those, he could rip the windbreaker apart and save Nudge.

Fang repeated the strategy, trying not to let Omega realize what he was doing. He threw a couple of cautious punches, earning himself more cuts on his arms, to disguise the fact that he wasn't actually fighting back.

Omega didn't catch on, and after the third cut across his chest, Fang realized he was dizzy from blood loss. He couldn't take another hit. He could very well die from the ones he already had if he didn't get out of there.

Fang backed away and ran. He struggled to tear the windbreaker's tough material, wincing as he accidentally touched his injuries. He could've cried in relief when the windbreaker finally came apart. Shedding it as quickly as he could, Fang unfurled his wings and launched himself into the air. He pushed his wings toward the ground in hard downstrokes, gaining several feet of altitude.

A hand closed around his ankle, bringing him down even as his wings took him up. Fang kicked Omega in the face hard, re-breaking his attacker's nose. Somehow, Omega held on.

Fang looked around desperately. Despite Omega's weight, he'd brought them both just above roof level. Omega's knife sliced into his calf, reminding him that he didn't have much time. Frowning and hissing, Fang considered his options as quickly as possible. He could try slamming Omega into the side of one of the trailers.

Suddenly, a battered pickup truck barreled down the road beneath them, blaring rap music. Fang stopped flapping, and he and Omega fell like proverbial apples about to give a certain British scientist a concussion.

The truck slammed into Omega, who released Fang in pain and shock. Fang hurriedly resumed flapping, barely avoiding getting hit himself. As he flew off, he saw Omega stand and head for Chaparral Court.

**A/N: FANG IS TOO WEAK TO TEAR APART A WINDBREAKER AND I DON'T KNOW WHY. Maybe he wears a windbreaker made of Kevlar or something. Kevlar that is mysteriously vulnerable to Omega's knife. Also, British scientist = Newton. I think. I wrote this awhile ago.**

**I still fail at combat scenes. **

**Please review, if only to let me know that I still have a few readers who might want the rest of this story.**


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